Squirm by Carl Hiaasen

Author:Carl Hiaasen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

The Crow Indians have faced many fierce enemies, including the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Lakota, and other competing tribes. If nobody had ever bothered them, the Crow might have stayed in Ohio, of all places, where they grew crops. Their descendants ended up on horseback in Wyoming and Montana, roaming the plains and river valleys in pursuit of the great buffalo herds.

Then the white men arrived and slaughtered almost all the buffalo. Many Crow died from smallpox, brought by the waves of strange settlers. Tribal leaders tried to maintain peace with the U.S. government, even as their lands were being taken away. Now, after more than a hundred and fifty years on a reservation, the tribe is struggling to save some of its sacred customs.

I got this from an online search about the Crow culture. That’s also how I recognize the earrings that Summer Chasing-Hawks is wearing. They’re made from fossil seashells. It’s an ancient tribal craft.

She says, “They belonged to my great-grandmother. She lived to be ninety-nine years old. I guess that’s a good thing.”

I’m getting used to the idea of Summer joining the Everglades mission. She keeps the mood light, which is helpful.

We’re staying at a motel called the Diamond Checkers. The room has only two beds, so I laid out my sleeping bag on the floor. My father walked down to the Lonesome Rooster to see if the poacher’s SUV was in the parking lot. It wasn’t. Dad says Baxter drives a jet-black Range Rover with a joke bumper sticker that says TROPHY HUSBAND.

“How can you be sure he’s here?” I ask.

“Reliable informant.” Dad is stretched out on one of the beds. His eyes are closed. “There aren’t many Range Rovers in this town. We’ll find him.”

“This is the same informant who helped you in Montana?”

“Correct,” says Dad, rolling over to face the wall.

Summer and I turn off the lights, go outside, and sit on the tailgate of the pickup. The heat makes the damp air feel heavier. In the distant sky is a tower of violet clouds that will soon bloom into a thunderstorm. I hear the piping cries of an osprey, which means we’re near water.

“I think I like Florida,” Summer says.

“Wait till you see the concrete parts.”

“You know what I can’t get over? How totally flat it is.”

“Makes it easy for the bulldozers,” I say. “Tell me the real reason you decided to come on this trip. It wasn’t just because you wanted to see a palm tree.”

She shrugs one shoulder. “I was pretty sure Dennis would visit you and your mom and your sister while he was here.”

“And you were afraid he wouldn’t come back to Montana?”

“No!” Her brown eyes flare. “Not afraid—concerned is all. Just a little.”

So I was right. “Summer, there’s no way he’d ever leave you and Lil. You’re his family now.”

“So were you guys, once upon a time—and he left you, didn’t he?”

“A lot’s happened since then. Dad’s changed.”

I’m surprised to hear myself defending him. I hope I’m not wrong.

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